This week at Hot Off The Press we are celebrating Christmas in July! It’s that time of year where September begins to quietly sneak up on us. The kids will soon go back to school, and before you know it, you’re scrambling to finish up those Christmas cards! In honor of Christmas in July this year, I’m vowing to kick holiday procrastination to the curb, and to combat this I have some gorgeous holiday-themed cards and scrapbook layouts to show you. I hope they inspire you to get a head-start on some of your Christmas crafts as well!

Of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without a sale, so I also made sure that all these projects feature products currently on sale now through Sunday! That’s right, now through Sunday you will receive 20% off on selected holiday items, and trust me – there’s a LOT to choose from!

Sunburst Quilt Christmas Card by Teresa Welch

This card features the Christmas Sweets Double-Sided Paper Packand coordinating ribbons, both on sale. I absolutely love the “stitching” which Teresa cleverly drew on with a fine-tip marker! Sew, sew easy! Click here for project instructions!

Decorated Tree Christmas Card by Teresa Welch

Here is another card Teresa created using the same Christmas Sweets Double-Sided Paper Pack and the Fancy Christmas Tree Cutting Die by Paper Artist™. The die-cut tree is so elegant that it really doesn’t take much to dress it up – maybe just a few Red Jewel Dazzles™, which are also on sale! Click here for project instructions!

Carter Family Christmas by Susan Cobb

This scrapbook layout features the same papers as the cards, and I love how Susan makes use of the Candy Cane Die-Cuts. She embellishes the entire page with adorable buttons (which somehow fell off of the project supply list, in case you were wondering) which gives the page a really cute, handmade look. Click here for instructions – and don’t forget to grab yourself a handful of buttons! For a totally different look, check out the following projects that were created using the Fresh Frost Double-Sided Paper Pack (also on sale):

Happy Birthday Card by Susan Cobb

Leave it to Susan to find a way to create an incredible birthday card from what are basically Christmas craft supplies! Here she uses Frosty Flakes 3D Foil Paper Tole to create stunning, wintery birthday card that would also work well for a man’s birthday! What a great lesson on how to look beyond the “intended purpose” of our papers and embellishments. Click here for instructions!

Snowflake Window Card by Teresa Welch

Teresa’s card (above) makes use of the Fresh Frost Double-Sided Paper Pack, Frosty Flakes 3D Foil Paper Tole, and the Paper Artist™ 3 Snowflakes Cutting Die Set. She used the cutting die set to create a snowflake window in the front of her card, which highlights the Frosty Flakes 3D Foil Paper Tole snowflake on the inside! And I can’t help but say it – I love the combination of papers she selected for this card.

Here’s one last piece of inside information for you… Just in case you are starting to feel guilty for mentally skipping past the entire season of fall – don’t! We have snuck plenty of harvest, autumn and Halloween-themed items into our Christmas Sale! Below is a greeting card created using some of our fall-themed sale items:

Happy Harvest Card by Ann Barba

This card makes use of the Rich & Spicy Double-Sided Paper Pack, as well as our Copper Happy Harvest Dazzles™. Ann simply places her Dazzles™ onto white cardstock, trims around the Dazzles™ edge, and then colors in the white areas with markers. An easy way to end up with custom-colored embellishments for your cards and scrapbook pages! Click here for project instructions, and scroll to the bottom.

So here are some ideas to get you excited for the holidays, and hopefully you will use this chance to save 20% on the papers, cardmaking supplies, stamps and other crafting stuff you would end up purchasing anyway (and don’t be afraid to use your Christmas stash early)! Please click on Christmas in July, and join my crusade to end up with a stack of gorgeous, handcrafted Christmas cards that actually make it to the post office in time for them to be enjoyed all December long!

Don’t you love getting surprises in the mail? So do I! That’s why I am so in love with our Personal Shopper Kits! Every month you will have a package filled with yummy crafting goodies sent directly to your door! I love seeing that box in my mailbox, and opening it is just like Christmas!!! Each kit includes a newsletter overflowing with amazing project ideas from our HOTP Designers (including complete instructions), as well as tips and techniques! We have several kits to choose from, depending on your crafting interests.

One of my very favorite kits is our monthly Scrapbooking Classes Personal Shopper! For starters, each month in your kit you will receive 24 stunning 12″x12″ patterned scrapbooking papers! 12 of your papers come from a never-before-seen Hot Off The Press paper pack that has not yet been released, and 12 are signature papers designed exclusively for Scrapbooking Classes members! Your Scrapbooking Classes newsletter will then guide you through the steps to create 8 unique scrapbook pages, plus a greeting card!

Not only are you getting fresh ideas for your scrapbook layouts, but you are also learning the very latest techniques straight from our designers! The Scrapbooking Classes kit also includes lots of fun extras each month, including matching embellishments for your scrapbook pages, and some of the latest crafting products. In the last 6 months, our Scrapbooking Classes members have received some very cool products with their kits including Scrapbooking Dazzles™, clear acrylic stamps, paper tole die-cuts, mini templates, embossing paste, embossing tinsel, stencils and more!!! All in addition to the 24 papers and blank 5″x6 1/2″ card and envelope that are always included. Trust me, this kit will boost your scrapping skills and you will always stay current on the latest products and trends. So now is the perfect time to tackle that scrapbook I know you’ve been meaning to work on! Here are just a couple of the amazing pages that have been featured in recent kits:

Nature Girl layout by LeNae Gerig

LeNae shows us a technique to create a custom-colored Dazzles™ butterfly sticker!

Nature Walk layout by Gail Booth

Gail shows us how to combine double-sided adhesive sheets and glitter to create these sparkly dragonfly accents!

Picture Perfect Memories layout by Gail Booth

Gail shows us how to highlight Hammered Gold specialty paper with black ink!

So maybe you’re thinking, those are great but—I’m not a scrapbooker! It’s OK. We’ve got you covered. Paper Wishes offers a monthly or every-other-month kit to suit your style of crafting! So whether you enjoy cardmaking, stamping, or creating projects with templates, stencils, cutting dies or embossing folders, we have a Personal Shopper kit just for you! Do you LOVE embellishing your projects with Dazzles™ or Paper Tole? Yep—we have a kit for you as well. Your Personal Shopper craft kits will always come with the latest projects, innovative techniques, designer inside tips, AND did I mention the special “Members Only” pricing? Just for being a part of our Personal Shopper family, you will receive a special reduced price on one or more of our products with every kit.

I also love giving these kits as gifts to my family and friends. They’re just perfect for the crafter in your life who would like to try something new, and they are also great for those of us who appreciate the convenience of having the latest products come straight to us! Go to our Paper Wishes Personal Shopper page to learn more about our various kits, and see all the fabulous products, techniques and ideas that could be arriving on your doorstep! Please feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments section below, and watch for a more in-depth look at other Paper Wishes Personal Shopper kits in future blogs. Happy Crafting!

Week Of Webisodes: Stamp Camp is finally here! A whole week of fantastic techniques and ideas to help kick start your creativity! Week of Webisodes (WOW) is an exciting event where we share five whole days of webisodes with our crafting family, focusing on a particular theme or papercraft. This week’s spotlight is on stamping, and WOW doesn’t even begin to describe the wealth of stamping ideas and techniques that will be presented. First off, the latest addition to our Stamp Camp series, Teresa’s Stamp Camp DVD #3 is featured, and it includes some of the many great techniques we will show this week. Teresa’s Stamp Camp DVD #3 includes 100 projects and 62 innovative stamping techniques, and Paulette and Gail are going to give everyone a sneak peek of what you can expect from this DVD! It’s going to be a fun-filled week of projects, and a goldmine of fresh ideas and inspiration that you won’t want to miss. Throughout the week you’ll also get to see a wide variety of stamping techniques from our HOTP designers as well! There is sure to be something new for you to try out!

Here’s just a brief sampling of some of the fabulous cards you’ll see featured in our Stamp Camp webisodes! You’ll see projects created by Teresa Welch, as well as our incredibly talented HOTP Design Team!

The projects below are featured in Stamp Camp Day 2: The Creative Palette. If you are not familiar with the Creative Monoprinting Palette, then listen up, because here is a product with basically infinite creative potential. Use the palette to mix colored inks and paints, create patterns and add unique effects with alcohol, water and other mediums. Press your paper, cardstock, stamps, brayers or anything else into your custom color, and use them to create gorgeous, one-of-a-kind projects and artwork.

Be sure to hop on over to our Weekly Webisode Gallery and start watching these exciting, technique-packed videos! I promise you will walk away feeling inspired to try your own hand at many of these super fun techniques, and ready to create your own work of art!

I really hope that all of you are already familiar with Dazzles™! They really are a fundamental component of many, many (dare I say all?) of the cards, scrapbook pages, gift tags, wall hangings and other paper crafts that we create here at Hot Off The Press, and for good reason! They truly are the most versatile “sticker” embellishment in the crafting cosmos! And it just so happens that right now they are on sale at www.PaperWishes.com until Sunday, July 13th, so that makes it a great time to stock up on more Dazzles™, or to try them out for your first time, whichever the case may be! In case you have never used Dazzles™ (and even if you have) I’d like to share a brief sampling of just some of the ways Dazzles™ can be used to enhance all your paper crafts.

For starters, these tough plastic-y stickers are frequently described by Hot Off the Press’ customers as durable, forgiving, and foolproof. They are very high-quality and have a bit of thickness to them and therefore will not tear as you pull them off their sheet. Dazzles™ also allow for a bit of repositioning in case you don’t place them perfectly the first time. They adhere soundly to your projects, lending them a finished look – almost reminiscent of heat-embossing!

A typical Dazzles™ sheet includes large images perfect as card and scrapbook focals, and as accents that highlight your favorite photos. Also included are accent images, borders and/or sentiments. Below is a scrapbook page designed by Susan Cobb. I love her use of these camera Dazzles™ to draw the focus (pun intended) to the photo itself.

This scrapbook page was a project in June’s Scrapbooking Personal Shopper kit! Visit www.PaperWishesPS.com to learn more about monthly scrapbooking kits!

One of the coolest features of Dazzles™ has got to be “backing.” Backing is how we refer to placing your Dazzles™ sticker onto a sheet of paper and then trimming around the Dazzles™ edge, leaving you with a beautiful filled-in image that can then be glued or foam taped onto your projects. I totally love having yet another way to use all those fun papers that I can’t seem to stop acquiring! As you can imagine, our card designers can get quite creative with their backing, piecing different papers onto the same Dazzles™ sticker, resulting in a beautiful, multi-colored image! Specialty holographic papers are also perfect for backing as they can add an exciting visual burst to projects, and can be strategically added to mimic shining light. Here is Ann Barba’s “Happy Birthday Holographic Card” which shows a Dazzles™ paper-piecing technique using holographic paper!

In addition to backing/paper-piecing, you can also create custom colored Dazzles™ by inking them with a product such as SurfaceZ or StazOn® inks. You can also place them onto white or ivory cardstock and color in the open areas with Spectrum Noir alcohol pens, Art Grip Watercolor pencils, watercolors or whatever you enjoy using. The raised plastic edges work well to retain your color, and to prevent bleeding and unwanted blending. Below, LeNae colored her Dazzles™ in with Spectrum Noir alcohol pens. The following card (also by LeNae) features a Dazzles™ that she backed onto a light-colored patterned paper and then colored in with Art Grip Watercolor Pencils. Sometimes we are hesitant to color onto something that is already patterned, but LeNae shows us how great this combination can turn out!

This card was a project in our March Premiere Dazzles™ Personal Shopper kit! Visit www.PaperWishesPS.com to learn more about monthly Personal Shopper kits!

You can also place your Dazzles™ onto something besides paper or cardstock – say double-sided adhesive sheets! Once you have done that, you can fill in the open, now-sticky areas with glitter, or even copper leaf as Susan has done in her “Soar Card,” below. So many options! You can even flip your Dazzles™ over and glitter the adhesive side! Burnish well, and you now have a shimmering, sparkling Dazzles™ ready to do your creative bidding!

I asked our team of Hot Off The Press designers which Dazzles™ they loved and used the most, and I received some great feedback. Debbie said that Dazzles™ Words were important, and rightly so! What could be simpler than choosing your perfect word, phrase or sentiment and placing it directly onto your card or project?! Gail also shared that she frequently uses Jewel Dazzles™ and Jewel Border Dazzles™ which add just the right amount of sparkle without the hassle of inserting a brad and creasing your project or having to hide the flanges. Dazzles™ allow you to skip all the hassle, and conveniently provide the bling without the bump! Especially nice when you want to mail your cards. I love the Jewel Dazzles™ that accent Gail’s “Spread Your Wings Card” below. There is also a Jewel Border Dazzles™ running along the left side of the card. Very striking!

Now, there is one more thing that you must know about – the Dazzles™ “innie.” When you peel off your Dazzles™ sticker, you are left with a vacated space. Trim around the edge of that space, and you have yourself a whole additional Dazzles™ image to use! Luckily, the folks at Hot Off The Press try to think of everything, and so they have included in every package of Dazzles™ an innie transfer sheet to make it super easy to use all of those innies, in essence doubling your Dazzles™ sticker sheet! Dazzles™ also include a project idea, tips and techniques in each package so you are really set up for success!

Obviously I could go on and on. There is a Dazzles™ sticker to compliment absolutely any and every project, and our graphic designers are constantly dreaming up more new Dazzles™ to help spur our creativity. And right now through Sunday, July 13th, if you buy 4 (or more) Dazzles™ at www.PaperWishes.com, you will receive 20% off all your Dazzles™!

Honestly, they are your perfect embellishment, with so much value in terms of their quality and the sheer number of stickers and innies (which I lovingly call your sticker “mileage”), as well as your decorating options, and of course, the visual impact! And all for not-very-much money! So there you have it. Take a moment to browse through Hot Off The Press’ Dazzles™ because there’s just no excuse not to have a few of these essential embellishments on hand! Have a great weekend and happy crafting!

Do you know what’s coming up in September? Once again, it’s that time of year… time for Hot Off The Press’ Annual GIRLFRIENDS GETAWAY! The single greatest crafting day of the year!!! If you live anywhere reasonably close to Canby, Oregon (or even if you aren’t so close!) you owe it to yourself to join us at this year’s HUGE annual crafting event.

If you’ve never joined us for Girlfriends Getaway, then let me give you an idea of what you can expect. When you arrive, you’ll be welcomed by the friendliest people who are completely excited to see you there! You’ll be surrounded by tables brimming with lots of yummy products, and a prize table that seems to go on FOREVER! Last year was my first year attending, and I had the most amazing time! The atmosphere is so welcoming and friendly that it truly feels like you are hanging out with 70 of your closest girlfriends.

The day is overflowing with boundless creativity, and your goodie box is TO DIE FOR! Your crafting supplies come in a pizza box packed with everything you need to create the day’s projects and Paulette guides you through each project with step-by-step instruction. And just to add to the excitement, after each project there is a drawing for even more free goodies and gift bags! Our projects included both cards and scrapbook pages, plus a really unique specialty project, and last year we used some really fun products like embossing paste and microglitter–included in your crafting supplies, of course!

Whether you consider yourself a cardmaker, a scrapbooker, or a papercrafter, you are going to have an incredible time. I can’t wait to see what Paulette has in store for us this year! It’s a day you can’t miss, so grab your favorite girlfriends and sign up by contacting Lori at lsesko@hotp.com, or come alone and make new friends who share your enthusiasm for combining fun and paper! Either way, you don’t want to miss this once-a-year crafting event. Space is limited and we are filling up fast so be sure to reserve your seat soon! We can’t wait to see you there!

We are happy to announce this months Winner for the Paper Wishes® Designers Challenge in the message board! Each month crafters are given a few challenges to go along with a sketch. This month for the Designer Challenge crafters were asked to showcase texture, layers, and embellishments! The winning card definitely met all these criteria, and then some!!! The winner for June is . . . . .

Ready for a great way kick off your 4th of July celebration? Check out our 4th of July Independence Day Sale! Now you can take 15% off of the highest priced item in your shopping cart! So now may be the perfect time to pick up some of the products on your Summer Catalog “Wish List.”I know that I can definitely still think of a few things that I would love to have from ourSummer Catalog!!! Remember those Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Markers? Yep, they are in there!

I’ll show you a small sample of the just some of the items you will find in our Summer Catalog! There are lots of NEW items from HOTP that would be so much fun to add to your summer crafting stash! The catalog is a wonderful place to get lots of inspiring ideas for scrapbooking or card making!

The Paper Wishes Summer 2014 Catalog has 401 new items for you to discover! There’s sure to be something in there that you can’t live without, so take advantage of this great sale and get 15% off your highest priced item!!! We at Paper Wishes hope you have a safe, fun, and fantastic 4rth of July!

If you haven’t yet heard of Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Markers, then you are going to lose your mind when you see what they are all about. What are they, you ask? Only the coolest invention ever!!! Brimming with shimmer, these glitter brush markers are perfect for big and small titles, for outlining, and for embellishing. The markers contain a water-based pigment ink that is photo safe, acid-free, lightfast, odorless, and xylene-free, making it safe for all your paper crafts! The 0.8mm nylon brush tip has a fine point so you can easily control the glitter. Use very light pressure to make narrow lines, or just press a bit harder to achieve a broader stroke. Use the markers in card making, scrapbooking, on titles, to accent stamped images, and much more! This ingenious little marker allows you to add as little or as much sparkle as your heart desires! BUT WAIT – there’s more! They come in 12 different colors!

Thanks to our team of talented designers, we have several projects to share with you featuring these incredible pens! First up is a beautiful, soft look that LeNae created using the Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush from the Elegant set, and the Dragonfly Small Stamp. I love the subtle color in this card, and the Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush really sets off the dragonflies. And really, if you think about it, a clear glitter marker is so genius! Could they make adding glitter and shine any easier?!

Would you like to know what else works flawlessly with Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Markers? Hot Off The Press Color Me products! They’re black embossed designs that resist while the paper absorbs the color making it perfect for showing off that Stella Sparkle! Let’s take a look at Susan’s card that was made with the Ebony Color Me Winged Things Card Toppers, and Elegant Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush set. After coloring the paper in with Spectrum Noir pens, Susan went over the entire butterfly with the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Marker! So while the Wink of Stella Markers produce great color on their own, They are also great for layering onto other colors!

This next card by Gail has so much sparkle and shine to it! Gail used the Light Green Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Marker to color in the Kindred Spirits Scrapbooking Dazzles™! What a dazzling effect she created by outlining the Dazzles that are on vellum with the Silver Wink of Stella Glitter Brush!

Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Markers can add sparkle and pizazz to any crafting project. But be warned they are highly addicting, incredibly fabulous, and your going to want them in every sparkling color!!! Don’t for get to take a look at more exciting creations that show off many ways to use this amazing product at in our Weekly Webisode featuring Wink of Stella Brush Markers! Have a great weekend, and happy crafting!

I truly love to create a card that is humorous, and then watch the smile that spreads across the face of a friend as they are receiving it! Humorous stamps are always a great product to have in your arsenal of crafting supplies! These NEW Art Impressions cling rubber stamps are not only playful and artfully designed, but the images themselves will bring smiles & laughter to all your crafting projects, while giving you plenty of opportunity to express some creativity!

For instance, how about this Hog Wild Birthday Cling Rubber Stamp Set for your next birthday layout or card? This comical stamp actually features two stamps – a large, adorable pig cling rubber stamp that measures 3”x3¼” and a separate sentiment that reads: “It’s your birthday… Go hog wild!” I absolutely love how she is jumping up in the air with cupcake in hand! Too cute!!

Speaking of birthdays . . . what could be greater than this hilarious Cake Popper Cling Rubber Stamp Set?! This stamp would be great for a tag element on a special birthday layout! Plus, it would make a perfect card focal for your best girlfriends! This set features a large 4¼”x3″ cling rubber stamp and a separate sentiment.

The Art Impressions Loungers Cling Rubber Stamp Set is just adorable, and will encourage all the women in your life to be fabulous! This playful cling rubber stamp set comes with two stamps as well – a large 3¼”x4″ cling rubber stamp and a separate sentiment. I really love the large size of the graphic images because they are perfect for coloring! You can use your Watercolor Pencils, Spectrum Noir Alcohol Pens (being sure to use a Memento™ ink pad so your stamped image doesn’t dissolve from the alcohol inks), Chalk Sets, or even Smooch™ Inks!

Okay . . . This last one is definitely a knee-slapper! The Deep Breath Birthday Cling Rubber Stamp Set has the funniest fish desperately trying to get enough breath to blow out ALL those candles! (I can totally relate!) This stamp set features two stamps, including a 3”x3¾” cling rubber stamp and a separate sentiment that reads: “It’s your Birthday! …Deep Breath!” I would love to receive this as a birthday card, and I would love to give it to someone as well. I can imagine using it for different card themes besides a birthday, such as a new job, a new baby, retirement, or becoming “empty nesters.” It’s easy to think of lots of occasions when taking a “Deep Breath” is necessary!

To add some finishing sparkle to these stamps, you could also use one of my favorite NEW products, Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Markers! And if you haven’t seen these amazing markers yet, make sure you come back to read this Friday’s blog where I will be giving you my insider’s thoughts and ideas on these glittering, colorful, brush-style pens.

Well the folks at Hot Off The Press have done it once again! They’ve just released two more MUST-HAVE embossing folders! Now sometimes we, as crafters, fail to see the full potential of our tools and supplies, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that there is just one way to use an embossing folder. Not true! Did you know you can add ink and paint to them? And they are not just for cardstock or paper either – you can emboss foil, wax paper, and even toilet paper and achieve some amazing effects! There are so many ways to use embossing folders to create one of a kind works of art! I should also point out what a terrific job the designers did highlighting the images in black which makes it super easy to identify each folder.

I really love the Paper Artist™Swirl Frame Embossing Folder by Hot Off The Press which contains a beautiful intricately-detailed frame measuring 4 1/8” x 5 7/8”. The frame design for this folder is what makes it so versatile! The center of the frame is perfect for highlighting a stamped sentiment. Below you can see how LeNae created a handmade paper frame using eight layers of toilet paper (!) to highlight her sentiment. So original!

For a completely different look, Susan cut the frame center from yellow paper, and placed it inside a blue embossed paper to frame her journaling. Another use for your Swirl Frame Embossing Folder would be to cut out the center, allowing you to place the frame over a favorite photo. And while your scissors are out, why not try cutting the frame corners apart to make decorative corner embellishments for your layouts and cards?!

This next folder that I so excited to show you is the Woven Lattice Embossing Folder. The Woven Lattice Embossing Folder, also from Hot Off The Press, contains a detailed image of a perfectly woven lattice rectangle which measures 4 1/8” x 5 7/8”. This folder is great for adding a textured background to any project. Susan created this next elegant card by using VersaMark™ Ink and Perfect Pearls Metallic Gold to highlight the lattice design. Simply highlighting the design allows you to make a simple, fast card that still has a lot of WOW factor!

I also wanted to show you all how LaNae used the same Woven Lattice Embossing Folder to make a beautiful textured background from aluminum foil! She layered several sheets to emboss, and then she did a bright color wash using Distress Paints! The colors are brilliant, and the unpainted foil border is so eye-catching!

You can even distress your embossed images by gently rubbing the raised areas with a sanding block or sandpaper, giving projects an aged or rustic feel. So now that your wheels are turning, it’s time to get out there and really start experimenting with these dynamic embossing folders. They are a great way to add some real dimension to your projects. Just imagine all the amazing looks you will create when you start combining all of your embossing options!

Welcome to Paper Wishes’ Papercraft and Scrapbooking Blog! Our card making and scrapbooking blog is the place to visit for inspired project ideas, the latest craft techniques, and the inside scoop on all things Paper Wishes! Visit our card making and scrapbooking blog to see the latest card designs and scrapbook layouts from the Paper Wishes Design Team, discover new paper craft tools and products, and to learn about upcoming events! Make sure to visit our card making and scrapbooking blog often so you don’t miss a moment of crafting fun!